Description

The Muslim World in Transition: Challenges, Boundaries and Opportunities –Contributions of the Gulen Movement.

The so-called “Muslim World” is undergoing change and transition both politically and sociologically. Numerous intricate-factors are at work affecting this change. The Gulen movement, a community of volunteers with trans-national reach and influence, is contributing to this transition in a most significant way.

Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic scholar and peace activist from Turkey, has influenced a whole generation of Muslims in Turkey and abroad to undertake charitable works and projects. They now constitute one of the most dynamic and influential Muslim-faith-based-movements of the 21st century. Their aim is to raise moral and religious consciousness by founding non-denominational schools and universities and to work towards interfaith dialogue.

This conference aims to explore the Gulen movement’s past, present and potential-future influence on this transition in the “Muslim World”. The Movement’s projects regarding East-West Relations, Intercivilisational Cooperation, and Global Terrorism are of particular interest for the purposes of this conference. Gulen’s re-reading and re-understanding of religious text will also be explored within the context of renewal and re-interpretation in Islam.

Submission Details
We invite papers that may address but are not limited to the themes given below. Abstracts, outlining the main points of the proposed papers (max. 300 words), should be submitted by 30th March 2007 along with a CV.

If selected for the conference, presenters will be asked to submit a paper of between 3,000 and 5,000 words by 31st July 2007 for inclusion at the conference. Those selected will be expected to deliver a 15-minute presentation at the conference. In addition, all selected-papers will be published on-line on the conference website and some selected papers will be compiled to publish a hardback book.

Accommodation will be provided for presenters and travel expenses, including international flights, will be subsidised subject to prior agreement.

Reference CD
Those interested in submitting papers can request a free Reference CD from us that includes academic papers, articles and theses on Gulen and the Movement in PDF and searchable format, complete with full references, quotable page numbers and other details. This CD also includes a complete list of Gulen’s books and articles.

Please direct any enquiries, and send any submissions, to submissions@gulenconference.org.uk. For further information please visit: www.GulenConference.org.uk.

Possible Theme-Titles:

• Contemporary visioning of Islam: The case of Gulen
• Islam in the modern world: secularism, politics and public sphere vis-à-vis Gulen movement
• Understanding the historical dynamics and textual references of tolerance, multiculturalism and dialogue – the Gulen perspective
• Gulen and reuniting faith with reason, conscience with consciousness, heart with mind
• Approaches to universal ethical values in Gulen’s discourse
• Turkey’s coexistence with or integration into the European Union and Gulen’s discourse
• Islam in the modern world: education, science and civilisation according to Gulen
• The resolution of social, ethnic, and religious conflict in the modern world, and democracy according to Gulen
• Islamic pluralism according to Gulen: multireligiosity, multiculturalism, identity and citizenship
• Ijtihad & tajdit by conduct, renewal and the Gulen movement
• North-South divide, poverty, global social justice and the Gulen movement
• Reconsidering the lawful and unlawful violence in Islam according to Gulen
• Gulen on terrorism, coercion, and violence
• Gulen on Jihad
• Gulen on interpretation of the Qur’an, roles and relationships of science, reason, faith, and religion
• Sufism and Gulen
• Turkish “Muslimness” and Gulen
• Gulen movement and the changing role of women in society and in public life